We write the year 2404...
and think back with frights at the time, when our ancestors had to leave the earth because of an environmental collapse.
This escape happened however not suddenly, but was planned and prepared long time before. Robot-steered measuring stations and the probably most important project for the re-establishment of the old environmental situation, the so-called atmosphere transducers, were taken distributed over the whole world in enterprise. Since one knew that the transducers would need several hundred years, in order to repair normal conditions on earth, begun at the same time under strictest secrecy the building of the space stations TERRA I-IV. These stations should serve the elect as habitat until the work of the transducers terminated and a return to the earth was possible.
However a project of this extent could not be really kept secret in the long term. The press already reported some months after beginning of the work in the orbit world-wide on it. The budding panic among the earth population and the governments of some states, which felt impossible, as well as the first visible signs of the forthcoming disaster, escalated to an intercontinental war, which took away 99.99% of mankind.
The probably only survivors were the men and women, who were busy at this time at the building of the space stations, in the orbit of the earth. Since a return to the earth appeared offering no prospects and still none of the four space stations could be finished, they decided to dismantle TERRA I-III and to complete the furthest advanced space station TERRA IV with the existing building materials.
About some generations the measuring stations and the atmosphere transducers worked perfectly and a return to the earth within easy reach had moved, but then an enormous meteorite met the space station TERRA IV, whereby sector C, which contained the control center and the control program for the measuring stations and atmosphere transducers, was destroyed completely.
Since the knowledge around the exact function of the transducers and their control has falled into oblivion... the large control council of TERRA IV has decided , to send a further expedition to the earth, for the replacement of a copy of the control program which probably still existing in Eureka. Moreover some incomprehensible events in measuring data sented last from the earth are to be cleared up.
It is not to be concealed that a first team, which took on these dangerful task, applies as missing.
Since you announced yourself as a volunteer, it is now your task to arrange a crew for the expedition and lead these.
Of course the control council assured each only conceivable and possible support.

sign
the commander of space station TERRA IV